Community Brag Posts

Once we hade the frame of it built, we stapled landscaping fabric and chicken wire to the bottom to keep weeds and moles/gophers from coming up through the bottom.

Other than that... We followed the plans as given.

The kids LOVE it!

I showed my wife the Laundry Dresser featured on Ana White's website and she asked if I could make one for her, but not quite so tall. I also turned the orientation to fit our laundry room space. I used primarily oak from recycled pallets to build the Laundry Basket Dresser. She wanted a work space on top, so folded laundry, empty baskets, etc. all have a temporary resting place depending on the day. From start to finish, it took me about 6 hours. She plans to stain the piece at some point, but its already in use, so I'm not 100% sure that will ever happen until we move or something. ;-) Great idea and laundry room organization!

This was the second building project I've ever completed. I had to make a few adjustments to make it fit the size of ray's closet, but it was totally worth it. most of the work was in the measuring, sanding, and sealing of the wood. Ftting the frames can be a little tricky if your planks aren't perfectly straight. Otherwise, this project was pretty straight forward and can be done in just a few days depending on how much time you have to dedicate to it. Thanks Ana!

Benchwright Coffee Table built from Ana's plan. Minwax Dark Walnut stain & Satin Polyurethane

I love having this new addition! Freed up space in my small shop and now it’s more functional and organized. I followed the plans with modifications in the leaves using scrap 1x’s (which I may decide later to change to 2x4s but I had 1x’s on hand) instead of the brackets and then the extra 1x’s holding on the leaves so they would fall flat to the sides. Love it!

As a complete beginner in wood working (unless you count a year of woodshop over a decade ago), I decided that building a cart for the miter saw I just bought would be a great first project. So what did I do with that brand new miter saw? I left it in the box and made all of the cuts with a circular saw. Not sure what I was thinking there...

I mostly followed the excellent plan provided here but used wooden arms to prop up the wings in order to save on cost. I got the idea from the folding sling chair plan. It took quite a few screw ups and adjustments of the lower support bar before getting one of the wings level but I got it eventually.

Update 8/20/13: The miter saw has been a joy to use with the cart and the big flip up wings provide a ton of really convenient work space in addition to stabilizing 8 ft boards for cutting. I added a sliding drawer and some utility hooks for additional storage.

Started the project last fall and finally finished it this Feb. Check out the cool weather station!

My attempt at the murphy bar featured on this site. Still have to add the sash locks. Added pallet crossmembers at the back, an x in the leg, and a french cleat to mount to the wall. 

This was my first DIY build. Having been inspired by my good friend, the brilliant Jen Woodhouse of The House of Wood, I decided surely I could do this too. So I picked something that looked like a challenge, but that we also needed. We have an old piano we bought from Craigslist that has heretofore been benchless. So I used the Flip Top Storage Bench plans, headed to Home Depot, collected the wood (and let them cut it - but made a few of my own cuts, too), and got to work.

I had a little trouble at first, simply because, after assembling the sides and aprons, the unit did NOT square up. I took a few pieces apart and realized it wasn't user error (what?), but warped wood. That's right: one of my 1x3s was warped and bendy. So I rebuilt that side with some of my leftovers, and made sure to square up after each step, and lo and behold it came together!

It's not perfect - one of my legs is a bit off, so it wobbles when no one's sitting on it, but there's no issue when it bears weight - but for my first build, I'm quite pleased! And now that I know I can do this...well, this is just the beginning!

Total time it took me was probably around 15 hours, which includes practicing using my circular saw and kreg jig (both of which were straight out of the box when I started), along with my rebuilding the side.

I used Minwax pre-stain wood conditioner after sanding, followed by two coats of Rustoleum spray stain in Kona. I sanded with 400 grit sand paper after each coat of stain, and finished with one coat of semi-gloss polyurethane. I considered a few more coats of stain, but so fell in love with the weathered look that evolved from the staining and sanding that I just left it!

I also spray painted the hinges - that was a bit of an accident (I didn't know how NOT to cover them in stain...), but turned out to my liking!

My estimated cost is about $100, which covers the wood (including the extra 1x3s and an extra 1x2 I needed for a screw-up), nails, screws, three cans of spray stain, polyurethane, wood conditioner, paint brushes, two packs of sandpaper, and my hand sander. All but the wood will be used in my next few projects too, so that cost covers QUITE a bit!

I loved the idea of this as soon as I saw it and decided to make it as as my daughter loves to watch cartoons on my ipad while sitting in her high chair eating her breakfast etc, 

I added a cap that can cover the end when it is not in use, a back and also painted it a very dark grey with gold accents on the feet, controls and also the little plaque I made.

My daugher cristened it "My TV" and loves it.

I am no longer allowed to play cartoons for her without "My TV".

Another great plan !

Onto the next one.